URBANA — The Boneyard Arts Festival came back for an in-person showcase of local artists’ work at more than 50 venues in Champaign-Urbana and the surrounding area this weekend. Before the pandemic, art exhibitions would be displayed in over 100 venues around the county in April, but after a virtual showcase in 2020, organizers decided…
CHAMPAIGN – Artists from the Champaign-Urbana area will once again be showcased at the 19th annual Boneyard Arts Festival, June 18-20, named for the creek that runs through Champaign and Urbana. It’s a comeback for the festival, which was limited to a virtual edition last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Artists will be showing…
URBANA — Things haven’t been easy for community theaters in Champaign-Urbana this past year, according to their leaders. Kelly Nowlin, executive director of the Champaign Urbana Theatre Company (or CUTC), said they’ve been unable to do any live shows since they canceled their March 2020 show in the middle of its run. “It was…
URBANA – In a small room on the second floor of local drag king Spank Knightly’s house lies a homemade production space. It includes a green screen, lights clamped onto broomsticks that are taped onto chairs, and a prop he calls a “bleeding canvas” because it turns red when it comes in contact with water. Listen…
URBANA — Weekend listeners to WILL-FM may have noticed the exciting sounds of jazz returning to our airwaves last weekend with the debut of NPR’s Jazz Night in America. Grammy-award winning bassist, composer and bandleader Christian McBride is the host of Jazz Night. Illinois Newsroom’s Brian Moline spoke with him earlier this week. Hear the…
CHAMPAIGN — After a long year with virtually no live, indoor music performances, we’re beginning to see a few green shoots of hope this spring. Next week, musicians from Sinfonia da Camera are holding three chamber music performances at University Place Christian Church at 403 S. Wright St in Champaign. They are scheduled for Monday…
CHAMPAIGN — The Kennedy Center announced it will honor Dick Van Dyke, an actor and comedian who grew up in Danville. Van Dyke is known for goofy facial expressions and other physical humor. He starred in his own TV show in the 1960’s and danced on rooftops in the movie Mary Poppins. The 95-year-old has…
PAXTON — The organizer of Paxton’s Grand Old Flag project hopes that 2021 is the year that their flag start flying. Denny Kingren has set the dedication ceremony for this coming Memorial Day. Listen to this story here. The Grand Old Flag’s 150-foot flagpole went up last summer, on the west side of Paxton-Buckley-Loda High…
A plan for addressing issues related to the University of Illinois’ use of Chief Illiniwek as a mascot includes formation of a student council to look at the development of new traditions for the Urbana campus. Chancellor Robert Jones released the implementation plan on Friday. The plan draws from input from a series of community-wide…
URBANA — Vocalist and composer Somi grew up in Champaign-Urbana, and her mother still lives here. Somi was in St. Louis working on a theater project when the pandemic forced it into hiatus. Rather than fly back to her home in New York City, the early epicenter of the pandemic, she drove three hours to…
Champaign’s 20th annual Parade of Lights went before the public for the first time, Saturday evening. But instead of a procession on downtown streets, the parade features miniature floats on your computer screen. (Watch the parade at this link). The virtual “shoebox edition” of the parade was created due to COVID-19 precautions, which have led…
URBANA — You can see the Jupiter String Quartet in concert Friday afternoon — virtually, of course — performing a piece commissioned in part by Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Composer Michi Wiancko wrote the piece To Unpathed Waters, Undreamed Shores as a tribute “to the beauty and vitality of the natural world.” After…
URBANA — Nick Rudd was a stalwart on the Champaign-Urbana music scene for decades. He died earlier this year. Monday, on what would have been Nick’s 60th birthday, Nick’s wife Gina Manola announced three memorial funds for music in Champaign-Urbana in his honor. The Nick Rudd Music Fund will support annual concerts through the University…
MAHOMET — The Champaign County ballot includes another tax referendum this November. If voters approve, it will mean more money for the county’s system of forest preserves, just as they are experiencing an increase in visitors. Lake of the Woods is one of those forest preserves. Located on the Sangamon River, the site includes almost…
URBANA — The 2020 Champaign County Pride Fest joins a long list of events that have had to move online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What used to consist of parades, drag shows, film screenings, and other live events, has now become virtual workshops, Zoom sessions and online discussion panels. The slogan for this year’s…